Eufloria HD is an iPad-only port of Eufloria, an indie PC and PS3 game created by a team of three game developers—Alex May, Rudolf Kremers and Brian Graingerm. It's a stripped-down real-time strategy game where players control colonies of trees and seedlings, each of which is spread out among a group of tiny asteroids. (The trees in the game are called "Dyson trees," deriving their name from the Dyson Tree, a hypothetical genetically-engineered tree that can grow on a comet.)

At the start of each level, players have control of a certain number of seedlings, little fly-like beings that flit around and between the circular asteroids like bugs around porchlights.

If you have enough seedlings around an asteroid, you can plant a Dyson tree, which serves as a base of sorts and causes more seedlings to grow. A tree can only support so many seedlings, however, and so comes the gameplay imperative—expand, expand, expand. Conquer new territories, and in doing so, complete each level.

Your colonial expansion is complicated by the presence of other enemy trees and seedlings. The moment they appear, you are commanded by your more-than-a-little-fascist "Mother Tree" to exterminate all of them and take over their asteroids. Of course, enemy seedlings fight back, so the game turns into a series of tense skirmishes as you route your flocks of seedlings quickly through your network of asteroids, volleying attacks onto enemy locations while watching your back for flanking.

Eufloria HD can be played at any of three speeds, which makes it easier or harder, depending on what you're in the mood for. At a slower speed, it feels much more meditative, while the higher speeds strip away any pretense of placidity and reveal the steely-eyed conquest machine within.

Eufloria HD's greatest strength lies in the simplicity of its basic systems. There aren't very many unit types, and so there's very little to keep track of. Most skirmishes come down to numbers and unit allocation.

A good number of seedlings are required in order to conquer larger enemy outposts, but in order to keep them moving, you must be constantly grabbing and re-routing seedling troops from other locations. It's a fun, constant yo-yo between attacking and resource management, and once you get used to the controls (which doesn't take too long, as they are well-implemented), you'll be directing your seedlings all over the battlefield like a seasoned general.

There is something off-putting about the story—it's just so alien and cold. It almost feels unnecessary—did a game like this really need a story? Eufloria HD says quite a bit simply via its framing and mechanics. In fact, the game feels somewhat like a philosophical riposte to Flower. ThatGameCompany's soothing PS3 game was all about nature and life, growth and expansion… but told as an "up with plants!" redemption story.

Eufloria HD is also a game about nature and life, growth and expansion, but it feels much more primal. It's about the constant, kill-or-be-killed struggle of the natural order, the winner-take-all quest to survive and propagate at all costs.

But that's the way of things, and it's most certainly the way of the game. Once I grew comfortable with my game-reinforced bloodthirstiness, I found myself greatly enjoying the constantly engaging flow of Eufloria. Planting a garden never felt so cutthroat.

Eufloria HD [App Store]

It's true. You can finally download PlayStation 2 classic God Hand to your PlayStation 3, people. That's the wonderfully wacky beat 'em up from the people who made Okami. IGN labeled it awful, while Kotaku contributor Tim Rogers likened it to "being a professional chainsaw-wielding glacier demolisher at a party where the penguins are going to need a lot of ice cubes."

If polarizing PS2 games aren't your thing—though at just ten bucks a pop, those emulated last-gen games are certainly worth experimenting with—there's much more on tap in this week's North American PlayStation Store update. NBA Jam On Fire Edition, the original Crysis and the lovely looking Eufloria, for example.

But if "new" video games aren't your cup of tea, Sega Bass Fishing, Odin Sphere and Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition are also recent adds to the PlayStation Store. See the full list of new PlayStation 3 and PSP games in the very long list below.

Games & Demos for PlayStation 3

Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition ($29.99)
Crysis ($19.99)
NBA Jam On Fire Edition ($14.99)
Shift 2 Unleashed Digital ($39.99)
Eufloria ($9.99)
Sega Bass Fishing ($9.99)
Space Channel 5 Part 2 ($9.99)
Eufloria Demo
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 Demo
PSone Classics - Chrono Trigger ($9.99)
PS2 Classics - Odin Sphere ($9.99)
PS2 Classics - Maximo: Ghosts To Glory ($9.99)
PS2 Classics - Grim Grimoire ($9.99)
PS2 Classics - Ring of Red ($9.99)
PS2 Classics - God Hand ($9.99)

Games & Demos for PSP

FIFA 12 ($39.99)

Add-ons & Expansions

Portal 2: Peer Review (free)
Rage – Wasteland Sewer Missions ($9.99)
Dead Rising 2: Off The Record Free Support Pack (free)
Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition Match Pack 1 (Fight For The Future) ($3.99)
NBA Jam On Fire Edition – Time Is Money Pack ($4.99)
Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2012: Foil Conversion "Auramancer" ($0.99)
Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2012: Foil Conversion "Cloudburst" ($0.99)
Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2012: Foil Conversion "Grave Whispers" ($0.99)
Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2012: Full Deck "Auramancer" ($0.99)
Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2012: Full Deck "Cloudburst" ($0.99)
Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2012: Full Deck "Grave Whispers" ($0.99)
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2012: Alaskan Rocks (free)
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2012: Chile Plateau (free)
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2012: Texas Woods (free)

Rock Band 3 tracks

• "Gold Cobra" – Limp Bizkit ($1.99)
• "My Way" – Limp Bizkit ($1.99)
• "Nookie" – Limp Bizkit ($1.99)
• "Re-Arranged" – Limp Bizkit ($1.99)
• Limp Bizkit Pack 01 ($5.49) – "Gold Cobra," "My Way," "Nookie," and "Re-Arranged" by Limp Bizkit.

Rock Band Network tracks

• "Bagatelle No. 25 – Fur Elise (Beethoven)" – Thomas Walker ($0.99)
• "Farewell, Mona Lisa" – The Dillinger ($1.99)
• "Glow" – Alien Ant Farm ($1.99)
• "Heroes Don't Cry" – Free Spirit ($1.99)
• "Pendulum" – After the Burial ($1.99)
• "Ship With No Sails" – Neonfly ($1.99)
• "Stabbing The Drama" – Soilwork ($1.99)
• "The Window" – Raven Quinn ($1.99)
• "These City Lights" – Rose of Jericho ($0.99)
• "Trying Hard" – Loni Rose ($0.99)

Game Videos

Qore 10/4 Edition
NBA 2K12 – Momentous Trailer
NBA 2K12: 3D Trailer
Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning Gamescom Trailer
Need For Speed The Run – Porsche Reveal Trailer
House Of The Dead: Overkill Gameplay Trailer #1
Final Fantasy XIII-2 2011 TGS Trailer
Jurassic Park: The Game – Action Montage Trailer
Metro: Last Light – E3 Gameplay Trailer
Metro: Last Light – Teaser Trailer
Saints Row The Third – Killbane: The Walking Apocalypse Trailer
Twisted Metal Vengeance Trailer
Resistance 3 "Follow Capelli" Trailer
Resistance 3 "No Mercy" Trailer
Resistance 3 "Radio" TV Spot
GT Academy Behind the Scenes – Helicopter Cam
GT Academy Behind the Scenes – Rally Course

Themes, Wallpapers & Avatars

Rochard Skyrig Theme (free)
Rochard Theme (free)
Rage Wellspring Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Rage Premium Theme ($1.99)
A Murder of Crows Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Amphibian Delight Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Bombshelter Blues Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Flirty Girl Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Xuriga Static Theme ($1.49)
Tatsuka Static Theme ($1.49)
Misti Dawn Playtime Static Theme ($1.49)
4 Elements Hd: Wallpaper 2
Rochard – John Rochard Wallpaper
Rochard Wallpaper
Lost Planet 2 Avatars (x20) ($0.49)
Rocket Knight Avatar Collection 2 ($2.99)
Red Faction Armageddon Avatar Bundle ($0.99)

Sales, Price Drops & Bundles

Explodemon! – Sale (PS3) (now $6.99, original price $9.99)
Tales From Space: About A Blob – Sale (PS3) (now $5.99, original price $14.99)
Enigmo – Sale (PS3) (now $1.99, original price $3.99)
Jane's Hotel – Sale (PS3) (now $1.99, original price $3.99)
Zombie Tycoon – Sale (PS3) (now $2.99, original price $4.99)
Zombie Tycoon French – Sale (PS3) (now $2.99, original price $4.99)
Stardrone – End Sale (PS3) (now $7.99, original price $4.99)
Bulletstorm – Digital Download – Price Change (PS3) (now $29.99, original price $39.99)

PlayStation Plus

Costume Quest (free)
Elemental Monster (free)
PSP minis - 1000 Tiny Claws (free)
PSP minis - Speedball 2 (free)
PSP minis - Street Smarts (free)
PSone Classics - Warhawk (free)
Resident Evil 5 full game trial
Shift 2 Unleashed full game trial
Eufloria – 20% off
Explodemon! – 30% off
Tales From Space: About a Blob – 40% off
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition – 25% off
Elemental Monster Online Card Game Booster Box DLC – 50% off
Lost Planet 2 Avatar Bundle (free)

Not content to run a downloadable games service where players have to wait weeks for repairs in order to play titles already out on Xbox Live Arcade, Sony Computer Entertainment America commits $20 million over three years towards the development of more excellent PlayStation Network exclusive games.

Teasing aside, the PlayStation Network has been a hotbed of amazing exclusive titles, from Q-Games' PixelJunk series and Thatgamecompany's Flow and Flower. Sony has accomplished its mission of delivering unique games to PlayStation 3 owners, and now it just wants to keep up the trend.

To that end SCEA has invested $20 million towards the development of new PSN games over the next three years. The money will go towards its first-party studios, as well as financing via the Pub Fund program, which provides development monies towards independent game development, as it did with Doublesix's Burn Zombie Burn.

"PlayStation Network is poised to deliver an enviable line-up of exclusive and imaginative games this year, with highly anticipated first-party titles like thatgamecompany's Journey and PixelJunk Sidescroller," said Brandon Stander, director of PlayStation Network marketing, SCEA. "We're doubling down on PlayStation Network software, and under this additional investment over the next three years, we anticipate a steady flow of high-quality titles that can't be found anywhere else."

Games being produced under this new initiative include the ambient bio-mechanical space exploration game Eufloria, action-puzzler Okabu, crime simulator Payday: The Heist, and colorful puzzle platformer Papo & Yo.